This invention relates to a relay module, an electrical center having a relay module and a method of assembling.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,717,135 granted to Stacy Ann Brussalis et al. Feb. 3, 1998 discloses an electrical distribution center of a type that is widely used in automobiles. These electrical distribution centers typically have a large number of electrical and electronic devices such as fuses and relays that are plugged into the electrical distribution center. An automobile normally uses from ten to twenty relays and many of these relays are plug-in type relays. For instance an automobile may have a main relay, a low beam relay, a high beam relay, a first blower speed relay, a turn signal blinker relay, a windshield wiper relay, a fuel pump relay and a cold start relay, for the basic functions of the automobile. These eight or so basic function relays are plugged into the electrical distribution center individually along with several other components, such as fuses and more specialized relays that are also plugged into the electrical distribution center individually. Alternatively all of these components can be plugged into a housing to form a sub-assembly that is then plugged into the electrical distribution center. However, this alternative usually requires mechanical assistance to plug the sub-assembly into the electrical distribution center. See for instance, U.S. Pat. No. 7,094,081 granted to Joseph M. Senk et al. Aug. 22, 2006.